So the 3 Training Teams are now in their host locations, the Lambs are bursting out of their Supply Tubs, and everyone is getting ready for set-up meetings and the start of the first 2013 Day Camps! We had a good Team Training Day yesterday, concluding with the Commissioning of our 3 Training Leaders.
After everyone had been collected by drivers from the host churches Jessica (my “person Friday” for the day!) and I headed home to tackle the baking of 6 lemon cake pies, the very last of the advance cooking for the Retreat. By 9pm the last of the pies had been cooled,
wrapped and frozen. Whew! Quite a busy day! I had planned to take a few photos of the Training but spent most of the day chasing latecomers, leading workshops, setting up and clearing lunch and, of course, trying to corral Wil who was having a whale of a time with a bunch of teens and young adults!
But I do have pictures of pies and of one of my freezers, which is currently stuffed with breads, cookies, and cakes, and pies for our Retreat Week.
Has there been time for much else this
week? Oh yes! Lots of time has been spent begging, pleading and badgering for MORE HOST CHURCHES. Sadly, I have no fantastic breakthroughs to report, although there are still a few crumbs of hope onto which we are all hanging.
It is hard to believe that just last Monday we held our June Committee Meeting, it already seems like eons ago. But it was great to meet with 4 other Day Camp officionados and wrestle with some of these issues
(while eating Greek Salad, Lavash, Iced Mint Tea and Rose-petal Angel Food Cake!)
We still need 1 or 2 more TEAM LEADERS. We absolutely need a Leader to take the
Toronto/Eastern Ontario Team, and if we do find any host churches for the still unassigned Team, then we need a Leader for that as well. We would have enough Team Members to manage 6 Teams, otherwise we shall have to admit defeat and drop to just 5 Teams this Summer.
If this is the Lord’s plan then, of course, that is exactly what we must do. It is just that I still feel a sense of Spiritual warfare here, in that we KNOW there are so many children who have not heard about Jesus and here we have a great Program, eager young people enthusiastic to lead it, supply boxes all packed and NOWHERE TO GO! And so we keep trusting and praying, even as we also begin to Train the Teams for the unknown work which we
must hope lies before them.
… Is there time for anything else at home? Well not much!
I did manage to make a pair of really cute (well I think they are really cute!) quick-change reversible pants for my Godson’s 1st birthday,they come from this book, which I borrowed from my friend Jill.
I have also been doing lots of gardening because the garden is a great place to pray.For those interested, no, the renovations have not been completed;in fact no one has been near the house for the past 10 days. (sigh). And I had to add one photo of Mandu, because she is so darn cute!
So here I am on the Sabbath, sadly missing morning service as I try to unravel a number of yesterday’s crises, which went unattended as we focused on Team Training Day. Last evening, as the last of the pies baked in the oven, Jessica and I enjoyed this meal. I know that mussels are something that people either love or hate. Fortunately we both fall in the former category so we had a feast of: –
Mussels and Belgian Fries
2 large russet potatoes - 5 Tbsp. Olive oil
- 1 tsp. ground black pepper
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tsp. lemon juice
- 1-½ tsps. Paprika
- ¼ tsp. curry powder
- 1-½ tsps. Cumin
- ½ tsp. allspice
- 1-½ lbs. fresh mussels (cleaned and
debearded)
Heat oven to 425F. 40 minutes before preparing mussels. Toss potatoes with 2 Tbsps. olive oil and ½ tsp. pepper. Spread on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast, turning occasionally for approx. 30mins.
Meanwhile, stir together the mayonnaise, lemon juice, curry powder and ½ tsp. paprika. Cover and refrigerate until serving time.
In a small saucepan, heat the other 3Tbsps. oil with the rest of the pepper, paprika, the cumin and allspice.
Ten minutes before the potatoes are ready, heat a large cast iron skillet over high heat. Add the mussels and cook, stirring, until the liquid has evaporated and all the mussels have opened (discard any unopened). Remove from the heat and toss in the spice and olive oil mixture.
Serve with the “frites” and mayonnaise. Serves 2, generously and can easily be doubled.
